Former Georgia coach Mark Richt flashes the “U” sign after being hired by his alma mater Miami

The perception of the ACC Coastal is that it’s the league’s junior varsity division in football compared to the much stronger Atlantic.

And there’s some validity to that claim, as N.C. State coach Dave Doeren will gladly tell you.

Thanks to the presence of national powers Clemson and Florida State, teams from the Atlantic have won the past five ACC championships, a streak that was extended on Saturday when the top-ranked Tigers pounded out a 45-37 victory against North Carolina in Charlotte.

But while the Atlantic wins the eye test by a lopsided margin, at least at the top of the standings, the results suggest that the gap between the two is small enough that the chains might have to be called out for a measurement. Coastal teams won 10 of 14 intradivisional matchups this season, with all seven notching at least one victory.

While some of that dominance may be the result of a few favorable matchups, it’s clear that in the case of the two divisions, perception is lagging behind reality.

Based on the events of the past week, that may be ready to change. The already balanced Coastal Division experienced an exponential upgrade with the addition of Mark Richt, Bronco Mendenhall and Justin Fuente to its coaching ranks.

Richt, in particular, upped the ante when he fell into Miami’s lap after being shown the door by Georgia.

The former Hurricane quarterback won 74 percent of his games in 15 seasons with the Bulldogs. His teams reached double-digit victories in eight of those seasons and won or tied for six SEC East titles.

That might not have been good enough for the folks in Athens. But in Coral Gables, where Miami has yet win an official Coastal Division crown since joining the ACC in 2004, such results would be cause for celebration.

Bronco Mendenhall rides in from BYU looking to rekindle a spark at Virginia

Richt is a proven recruiter who, unlike his most recent predecessors with the Hurricanes, has had just as much success molding that talent into positive results. That, combined with his bloodline and upbeat personality, can’t help but add life to a program in major need of some defibrillation.

As bad as things got at Miami under former coach Al Golden, at least the fan base there remained engaged enough to fly banners over stadiums calling for his dismissal.

At Virginia, they stopped caring long before Mike London was finally let go at the end of his fourth straight losing season and a sixth straight defeat at the hands of rival Virginia Tech. In desperate need of something to rekindle at least a spark of interest, athletic director Craig Littlepage turned to a Bronco to come riding into town and save the day.

Mendenhall is an outsider, having been born in Utah, played at Oregon State and coached at BYU since becoming a head coach in 2005, so it might take time for him to gather some recruiting traction within the ACC’s geographic footprint.

But he’s compiled a 99-42 career record (39-9 in conference play when the Cougars were affiliated with the Mountain West) and has never experienced a losing season, a fact that suggests the Cavaliers could soon be back on the upswing.

Turning things back around is also a priority at Virginia Tech, where the Hokies could use an infusion of youthful energy after dropping off considerably over the final four years of retiring coach Frank Beamer’s tenure.

Justin Fuente brings some youthful enthusiasm to Virginia Tech

They’ll get that with the arrival of 39-year-old Justin Fuente, a former college quarterback who favors a much more wide-open style of offense than what they’re used to in Blacksburg..

Though his resume is short, it’s impressive having transformed Memphis from a three-win also-ran to a 10-win conference champion in a single season. His current team has won nine games, including an upset of SEC West power Ole Miss.

If that success isn’t enough to endear him to Tech fans, then his decision to retain long-time defensive coordinator Bud Foster should.

With a coaching lineup that already includes highly regarded holdovers David Cutcliffe of Duke, Larry Fedora of North Carolina, Pat Narduzzi of Pittsburgh and three-time ACC Coach of the Year Paul Johnson at Georgia Tech, the new additions might just be enough to boost the Coastal Division’s reputation to varsity status.

Or at the very least, help bring its perception just a little bit closer to reality.